Bella Lotte
by Have-A-Go-Hero
Summary: Sometimes, it's the struggles that we face that gets us to where we want to be. I suppose that's what makes life beautiful.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Assassin's Creed as much as I wish too, I am only 'borrowing' it for my story.**

 **AN at the bottom.**

"Oh god," Sofia grunted, "Look at him."

I looked up to where to she was pointing at. A man with long hair tied back was walking out of a shop, holding a few bags.

"Hm, he's actually not that bad." I smiled at her.

"Not that bad? He's like the definition of hot." She huffed, still smiling at the man, "Alessa, do you ever even look at a guy and want to simply jump his bones?"

"Seriously? Sofia, you might want to find another hobby that isn't perving on people." I chuckled slightly.

"Perving? Excuse me! I wasn't the one caught looking at Antonio Russo in the boys changing rooms."

"W-what?! I wasn't looking! Just at the wrong place at the wrong time..." I spluttered.

"Yeah, whatever. But seriously Al, look at all these hot Italian men surrounding us and tell me you're not interested in any of them."

I didn't say anything.

"See! C'mon," she laughed, "Let's go get something to eat; all this looking has gave me an appetite!"

And off she went, dragging me behind her, she curls bouncing as she giggled. Sometimes I'd wondered were all her enthusiasm came from- neither of us had had a great childhood and it had taken a lot of hard work to get to where we were. To the outside world, who knew nothing of our struggles, we were two- dare I say it- beautiful young women without a care in the world. They didn't know who we were and where we had been, or what we had been through- and I'm not going to lie but it was a hell of a lot- or what it had taken to get over it all, so when Sofia asked, I agreed to the trip to the bar down the road. For a toast, if you will, to our friendship, struggles and of course, all the hot men we'd seen today.

* * *

By the time we had finished our drinks and Sofia had chatted up at least two of the men we had seen, it was time to go home. Sofia, being the lightweight she is, had kindly been taken home by one of the staff at the bar who lived near to her. I suppose that was the good thing about living in a small town; everyone knew everyone. So, reassured that she was going to get home okay, I began the walk back to my own home where, unbeknownst to me, my dear old uncle had been fretting over where I was.

"And what time do you call this?" Was the first thing i heard when i walked through the door.

"Um, sometime past midnight?"

"Yeah, _hours_ after your curfew-"

"Domenico please, I'm 19, not a child! I don't need a curfew, I thought we went over this?" I shrugged my coat off and fell back into the old armchair, watching as uncle dearest paced and waved his hands in the air like a mad man.

"It doesn't matter if you're 19 or 90, I'm your uncle and probably the only one in the family that cares about you. I don't want what happened to your mother to happen to you!"

According to my uncle Dom, my mother had went out one night, drank too much, got with a foreign guy who happened to be my dad and ended up with me. Her family were ashamed and disowned her and the only one who looked out for us was my uncle, but when she died I was shipped off to my dad, who -of course- didn't know about me, and forced to stay in America for a few years. All was well until I had a little _discussion_ with the stepmonster. Apparently, I was a little brat who only cared for myself and hated my little innocent younger siblings and that the recent misfortune that happened to the family, meaning me moving to America, was my fault. Father dearest was dreadfully upset that I'd _upset_ his wife that something had to be done about it and the only way he could discipline me was to send me all the way back to my uncle in Tuscany where I have been ever since.

"Yeah, well maybe if you actually gave me some freedom to do the shit _I_ want to do, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad! And gee, thanks for reminding me of the mistake she made- oh wait, is it possible to call yourself a mistake?"

"No, Al, that's not what I meant-"

"But it is though, isn't it? You wouldn't have said so otherwise."

The silence was deafening.

"So what am I Dom? I'm a mistake, aren't I? I mean, I was never wanted by my maternal family, save for you, and not even my own mother liked me, why? Because I was the mistake that cost her relationship with her family! And , to top things off, my own father doesn't want me! So what is it Dom? What is it with shitty people and me, huh? Why is it that no one seems to want me no matter how _hard_ I try, or no matter what I do?"

"Alessa, that's not true! It's not your fault-"

"No, no." The dull throb of a headache began, "I'm not dealing with this or you now." I said pulling myself up and walking out the door.

* * *

Okay. So maybe it had been bad idea to walk out into the cold winter air with no coat on.

"For fuck sake! Why does this always happen to me?" I whined.

Alright, so that may have been a bit over dramatic but it was half true! Mostly anyway.

It is true that I have a tendency to walk out of an argument instead of fighting- a trait I got because of my mother- however, it wasn't often that I walked out without a coat.

"Tsk, not my fault my ass- if I hadn't have been so desperate to get out I wouldn't be freezing to death." I muttered darkly as I walked towards the town's gate and onto the surrounding fields. I continued to trek to the top of a hill where I promptly flopped down on and gazed up at the sky.

It was somewhat calming but it wasn't long until my worries and thoughts caught up to me, sending a piercing pain through my head once again.

"God damn it mother. I wish I could be far away from here- even where you are! That would get the problems to leave me alone. Knowing my luck though, it wouldn't be the easy way I'd take but perhaps that wouldn't be so bad… more like a second chance in a way."

I continued to watch the stars above me until I began to slowly drift off to sleep.

All I dreamt of was white.

 **So guys! How was it? As explained before, the original idea had its merits however, it was the idea of a 12 year old and not very developed. Due to this, the story has been changed considerably and hopefully for the better- I also hope I addressed the problem of explaining Alessa** _ **/mysterious other name's**_ **character. This obviously was an issue in the previous story as I knew my character, you did not, so hopefully I have covered this so far, albeit a bit boringly. But please review! Constructive criticism though and not just criticism- it's not very nice- and the next chapter should be up soon!**

 **P.S I apologise for it being so short :/**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer in chapter 1**

On a cold, dark night of the Italian winter, a lone man rode his horse silently down the path to his town. Occasionally, he gazed up at the stars above his head, wishing for his happiness and freedom back, wishing that he didn't have to do what he did.

He was a monster that took lives, and when he couldn't, he'd make them hell- in the name of what? Peace? Freedom? Prosperity? Despite how many times someone had tried to drill it into him, he could never make sense of why they did what they did- why either parties thought they could play god. If anyone asked him his true opinion on the matter, he would tell them they were sick and twisted; no one should have more power than what they are born with, no one should be better than anyone else- yet it seemed that in the world they lived in, all that mattered was power.

As his mind rambled on, he didn't notice the way his horse had drifted to the side of the road, into a clearing and stopped. Only when it whined did he look around him.

It was extremely dark- he could barely see a thing- but he did notice the small figure curled up on the ground.

He climbed off his horse and crept over to it. Slowly, he pulled out a dagger to defend himself if the need arose, but found that there was no need at all.

The figure was completely unconscious.

He turned and walked back to his horse. He didn't care what happened to the figure- it was nearly dawn and it would live. However, he found that when reaching his horse, the beast nudged him back over to the figure and backed away when he tried to reach out for it. The man couldn't work out why the horse wouldn't let him near it, so being too tired to even think about it, he turned back to the figure and stared.

It was _weird_ to say the least.

Well, _it_ probably was a she.

The more he squinted, the more he could see the long hair tatted on the floor. She was wearing a shirt with no buttons which confused him endlessly and strange pants with shoes. He nearly laughed at how stupid he thought the woman (girl?) was- she'd collapsed in the middle of a clearing, with no coat on in the middle of winter? Yes, very stupid. Though, he supposed that she couldn't have figured out where she would have fallen.

He watched her as the shivers continued to rack her body, almost making him feel sympathetic towards her. He turned back to his horse.

"Are you going to let me back on you?"

The horse just whined.

"So, no?"

He received the same answer. He turned back to the person.

"So, I'm guessing you won't let me leave without her, is that it?"

The horse took a step closer to him.

"Wait, you're actually serious? Dio mio… why am I even talking to a horse?"

He pulled a face as he bent down to pick the figure up, careful not to jostle her too much. Slinging her over the back of the horse, he climbed on and directed it back onto the road.

"Ragazza, you best consider yourself lucky," He grumbled, "I've just let my life be dictated by a horse for you."

And the horse continued on its merry way with one peaceful passenger and one very tired and agitated one.

* * *

It was light when she came around. It was also warm. And she was comfortable.

 _Where am I?_ She wondered as she looked around. She was in a room she did not recognise- the bed she was in was massive with numerous blankets and throws piled on top of her. There was a roaring fire in front of the bed with a large portrait on top. It was a family who she, surprise surprise, didn't recognise.

She tried to sit up- key word being _tried_ \- but found that she couldn't. Just as she was about to try again, a young girl walked in.

"Oh, you're awake? We weren't expecting you to wake this early." She looked confused before smiling, "Well I suppose you'll want something to eat then? We have soup if you want."

She couldn't even protest before a quite large bowl was shoved in front of her.

"There, eat up, you'll be wanting your strength if you want to go home."

Home? But wasn't that where she was?

"I don't know how much of it you remember but apparently my idiotic older brother found you in a clearing- why he brought you back, he won't tell me- wait, _scusa,_ don't think you're not welcome because you are it's just that he won't tell me anything and he's being really touchy about the whole thing for some reason and- hang on, he didn't sleep with you did he?"

And the girl promptly half spat, half choked on her soup.

"I'll take that as a no then." She dead panned, sitting on the edge of the bed. For whatever reason, she started giggling, "Sorry about that, I sometimes ramble on when I'm nervous or whatever and we kind of don't know who you are so…"

She smiled. She stared.

"…You are?"

Ah.

Now that the girl thought about it, who was she? Then the realisation hit her. _Who. Was. I?_

"I-I don't know" she panicked. Who the hell was she? She now knew she wasn't at home, the poor girl didn't even know her own name and apparently she'd be 'rescued' by some idiotic man who could have slept with her then done something to her to make her forget and- wait! No.

That can't be right.

Something about stars or wishes or something… nothing.

"You don't know?" The other girl asked calmly.

"N-no."

"Ah, well, this changes thing's doesn't it?" She smiled warmly.

She got up to leave and walked towards the door before turning to face the girl.

"I'll be back in a little bit, just finish off your soup and rest a bit more, okay?"

And she left. Left the girl. In a room she did not recognise, in a place she did not know.

 _Oh what did I do to deserve this?_

* * *

True to her word, the girl did come back a little later, this time with a man.

"Did you get much more rest? I understand that this may be a bit, well, difficult for you."

She just smiled back.

"I'm Claudia by the way, and this man is my uncle, Mario."

Both of them continued to smile at her, expecting her to say something. It was weird how much they smiled though- the younger girl certainly wasn't used to it.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you," she said quietly, "But I was wondering if you could tell me where I am?"

"You're in Monteriggioni. Tell me girl, do you have a name?" The man asked her.

"I think? But I can't remember it."

"Can you remember anything?"

"No, signore."

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't the blooming laugh that came from the man.

"Signore? I like this girl!" he continued to laugh, "Ha! If only Ezio was that respectable. But no, there is no need for that, it's just Mario."

"Okay Mario." His grin never lessened.

"So, if you do not remember anything, I wonder how we can help you…" Claudia wondered out loud, "Perhaps uncle, Ezio could take her back to where he found her? That may trigger some memories."

"Very true _Nipote_ , I'll ask him when he wakes."

"I'd rather you then I _Zio."_

"Give him time Claudia; he'll come 'round. As for you, I'll leave you two to it." He gave a slight wave a left leaving the girl and Claudia alone.

"So, do you think you could manage a walk?" She looked at her critically.

"Probably not, but if I got a change of clothes or something, I might be able to motivate myself enough." she smiled cheekily.

"Alright, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news about your old clothes- they're a bit, well, weird. But by the looks of you, you should be able to fit into something of mine, how old are you?"

Again she didn't have a clue.

* * *

By the time she'd got changed and up and felt strong enough to walk on her own, it must have been late evening. They'd only walked to the back of the town (they lived in a villa, it was great!) and stopped to look at the view.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Claudia asked her.

The young girl looked at her. She had a sad smile on her face, like she longed for something she didn't have. She looked at the vast countryside in front of her.

"Si, very much. But for some reason, I feel like I'd prefer a city life than this. As lovely as it is, I don't think I could deal with the quietness of it all."

She turned back to Claudia but was shocked at the look on her face. If it was possible for her jaw to touch the floor, then it would have.

"It's like you've just read my mind!" She laughed, "We never used to live here, we did live in Firenze but something happened and now we're here."

"What happened?"

"Ah, something I'd rather not talk about right now."

She must have looked disappointed because Claudia gave her another sad smile.

"Sorry, it's just very personal and there's a few other things going on right now and I feel like if I spoke about it, I'd never stop."

"It's okay," she smiled. It was the only thing she could do.

They stayed out until the sun set and only came back in they were called by Mario.

It seems he had something to tell them.

* * *

 _Falling. Rope. Death. Men? No, boys. A boy. Falling. Rope. Death._

" _No."_

 _Falling. Rope. Death._

" _Please, no."_

 _Men? No, boys. A boy._

" _Not them."_

 _Falling. Rope. A girl?_

 _Death._

Ezio shot up panting. He groaned, putting his head in his hands. _This dream_.

It was all he got, every night without fail. He tried not to sleep on most but he couldn't help it. Exhaustion was a horrid thing.

"Ezio?" He looked up and spotted Mario in his doorway, "Are you okay?"

He just shook his head.

"Here, drink this." Mario came closer to him and handed him a glass of water. He slowly drank the drink as Mario sat at the end of the bed, "Better?"

"Si, grazie uncle." Ezio muttered.

"Still having the same dream?" He nodded, "It'll pass in time."

"Mario, you've said that every night since I first started having it and yet, it's still here."

"Ezio, these things take time. You know they do."

"Well, it doesn't feel like it." Ezio whispered before lying back down, rubbing his head. Mario just sighed.

"Ezio, I need to ask a favour of you."

"What is it?" He snapped.

"To take the girl back to where you found her. See if she remembers anything."

"Why me?"

"Because you know where it was." Mario sighed again but this time got up.

"Yes but I can tell someone and they can take her."

"Ezio-"

"Uncle.

"Boy." Mario whispered dangerously low, "Stop being so petty about things. I asked you a simple favour and yet here you are, complaining about it like a child. Get up and get ready, you can take her in the morning for that."

Ezio sat back up as he left. Why did he have to go? He was sure there were plenty of other people who could take her. He had places to go, people to see. _More lives to ruin,_ he thought darkly.

He got up and dressed and made his way downstairs, making sure to check on his mother. There was no difference, nor did he think there ever would be. Here he was acting like a sulking child when his mother had gone completely mute. _Perhaps I am being awkward about this._

He walked into Mario's study and noticed it was already dark. He nodded a greeting at Mario and continued to the books on the shelves behind him. It wasn't long before he heard his sister and the girl enter.

"Uncle, Ezio." Claudia huffed. So, she was still annoyed.

"Ah, girls. As Claudia mentioned earlier, perhaps it would be best for Ezio to take our guest to where he found her, it could bring some memories back for you, could it not?"

"It might." The girl sounded hopeful. Ezio turned and watched the girl through the interaction. She was unusual looking but in a strangely intriguing way, almost beautiful he thought. Personality wise however, he wasn't expecting what he got. He must have been staring for too long because she turned to him.

"Like what you see?" She said bluntly.

"Perhaps."

"Well, from what I've heard about you, I think I could do better."

Yep. Definitely not expecting that.

"Is that a challenge?" He smirked.

"Apparently so."

"Well, this should be easy."

"And why is that?"

"Well, for a girl who doesn't know who she is, how could she possibly know who she likes?"

And if there was a line, he'd definitely crossed it. The small smile on her face was wiped and she looked… worried?

"We leave at dawn tomorrow. Meet me at the gates and we'll go."

 **Hello again! I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if there are any confusing point of view changes throughout it, please tell me- I may have kept switching whilst writing it… Anyways, you have met Ezio, Claudia and Mario and I hope you're not too confused. You'll find out more about the situation a little later on but if anyone has any questions, feel free to pm me.** **Also! Reviews are welcome as per but please do not write a review for the sake of being nasty, again, it's not nice. Thanks for reading and hopefully the next chapter shall be up soon!**


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